''Sanders of the River'' is a 1935 British film directed by the Hungarian-British director, Zoltán Korda, based on the stories of

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. It is set in

Colonial Nigeria Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. Britain an ...

. The lead Nigerian characters were played by African Americans

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

and Nina Mae McKinney. The film proved a significant commercial and critical success, giving Korda the first of his four nominations for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival.

Plot

Sanders ( Leslie Banks) is a colonial District Commissioner in the

. He tries to administer his province fairly, including the various tribes comprising the Peoples of the River. He is regarded with respect by some and with fear by others, among whom he is referred to as "Sandi" and "Lord Sandi". He has an ally in Bosambo, a literate and educated tribal chief (played by the African American actor,

). When Sanders goes on leave, another chief, King Mofolaba, spreads a rumour that "Sandi is dead." Inter-tribal war seems inevitable, and the situation is made worse by gun-runners and slavers. His relief, Ferguson (known to the Nigerians as Lord Ferguson), is unequal to the task; he is captured and killed by King Mofolaba. Sanders returns to restore peace. When Bosambo's wife Lilongo ( Nina Mae McKinney) is kidnapped, the chief tracks down her kidnappers. Captured by them, he is saved by a relief force commanded by Sanders. Bosambo kills King Mofolaba and is subsequently named by Sanders as the King of the Peoples of the River.

Cast

* Leslie Banks as Commissioner R.G. Sanders *

as Bosambo * Orlando Martins as K'Lova * Nina Mae McKinney as Lilongo * Martin Walker as J. Ferguson * Robert Cochran as Lieutenant Tibbets (as Robert Cochrane) * Richard Grey as Captain Hamilton * Toto Ware as King Mofolaba * Marqués De Portago as Farini *

Eric Maturin Eric Bagot Maturin (30 May 1883 – 17 October 1957) was a British actor whose acting career began in 1905 and whose first film appearance was in 1919 during the era of silent films. Early life Maturin was born in Nainital, India in 1883,

as Smith *

Allan Jeayes Allan John Jeayes (19 January 1885 – 20 September 1963) was an English stage and film actor. Jeayes was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, the son of Isaac Herbert Jeayes, archivist and Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum. ...

as Father O'Leary * Charles Carson as Sir John *

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti- colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

as Tribal Leader Colonial administrator Sir B. Bourdillon is credited as an adviser.

Paul Robeson's reaction to the film

The

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

singer and actor

, a civil rights activist, accepted the role of Bosambo while living in London. At the time, he was studying the roots of pan-African culture through studies of language and music. Robeson felt that if he could portray the Nigerian leader, Bosambo, with cultural accuracy and dignity, he could help audiences—especially Black audiences—to understand and respect the roots of Black culture. He took the role on the condition that the film would portray Africans positively. The filmmakers took an unusual step towards authenticity by sending a film crew on a four-month voyage into remote areas of Africa. They recorded traditional African dances and ceremonies, with the intention of using this footage integrated with scenes shot in the studio that included the future

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

of Kenya

as one of the extras. After the filming, Robeson was asked to return to the studio for retakes of some scenes. He discovered that the film’s message had been changed during editing; it seemed to support the continuation of colonial rule in Africa, a message which Robeson disagreed with. The finished film was dedicated to "the handful of white men whose everyday work is an unsung saga of courage and efficiency". Robeson also discovered his character, Bosambo, had been changed during the editing process from a proud leader to a servile lackey of the colonial administration. He said:

The imperialist plot had been placed in the plot during the last days five days of shooting...I was roped into the picture because I wanted to portray the culture of the African people and I committed a ''faux pas'' which convinced me that I had failed to weigh the problems of 150,000,000 native Africans...I hate the picture.

In 1938, Robeson added disparagingly: "It is the only film of mine that can be shown in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, for it shows the negro as

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

states desire him - savage and childish." Robeson was so disillusioned by the picture that he attempted, but failed, to buy all the prints to prevent it from being shown.

Reception

It was the 11th most popular film at the British box office in 1935-36."The Film Business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s" by John Sedgwick and Michael Pokorny, ''The Economic History Review''New Series, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Feb. 2005), pp.79-112

Other versions

The film was parodied in

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...

's 1938 film ''

Old Bones of the River ''Old Bones of the River'' is a comedy film released in 1938 starring British actor Will Hay with Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and directed by Marcel Varnel, based on the characters created by Edgar Wallace. The film is a spoof of the 1935 ...

''. This comedy featured characters named Commissioner Sanders, Captain Hamilton and Bosambo. In 1963, producer

Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 f ...

made a German/British

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

small scale version of the film, ''

Death Drums Along the River ''Death Drums Along the River'' (titled ''Sanders'' in the USA) is a 1963 British-German international co-production, using the characters from Edgar Wallace's 1911 novel ''Sanders of the River'' and Zoltán Korda's 1935 film based on the nove ...

'' set in the modern day only using some of the names of the characters. It spawned a sequel, ''

Coast of Skeletons ''Coast of Skeletons'' is a 1965 adventure film, directed by Robert Lynn and starring Richard Todd and Dale Robertson. It is a sequel to the 1963 film '' Death Drums Along the River'', and just as that film, it uses the characters from Edgar ...

'' (1965).

References

External links

* * (Alternate title: Bosambo) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders Of The River 1935 films 1935 drama films 1930s adventure drama films British black-and-white films Films about race and ethnicity Films directed by Zoltán Korda Films set in Nigeria Films set in the British Empire Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Paul Robeson British adventure drama films Films produced by Alexander Korda Works about colonialism Films shot at Imperial Studios, Elstree 1930s English-language films 1930s British films